Please take the following notes as in the spirit it is intended. I am not a Qualified Dermatologist or Doctor. I can only speak from my own personal sensitive skin experience. If you have not yet consulted with your Doctor about a sensitive/problem skin condition that is currently affecting you, I would strongly advise that you seek their advice before trying other avenues.

If the world were perfect, we would all have perfect bodies and skin. If there were no money, family and work worries, there would be no need for healing lotions and potions. We would have perfect diets, as we wouldn’t be craving comfort foods for our distressed states. We would be in a finely tuned and balanced state. Our body systems would not be eliminating large doses of toxins from the continual emotional stressful states by constantly feeling pressured and anxious. This continual behaviour can result in overused adrenals and can take its toll on the rest of our hormonal systems, nervous systems and Brain/Mind. This constant fight or flight stress response results in sensitive skin, bad hair and numerous body odours to contend with on a daily basis. Mind worries can overwhelm the best of us. We’ve just got to get on with life, through the highs and the lows and our skin and hair are always the first to pay the price for our hectic and stressful lifestyles.

I used to suffer years with predominantly sensitive skin with additional eczema problems including spotty & oily skin conditions. I could experience the whole spectrum of different skin types in a space of just a few weeks!The following snippet is from "Information about skin" by Angie Coleman

"We all want normal, healthy, glowing, beautiful and resilient skin. As you may know our skin is comprised of many layers, the outer layer of healthy skin has a balanced pH level and so is exceedingly rich in polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. When skin appears dry it is critically deficient in these very vital nutritional essential fatty acids and so results in crucial moisture loss. Those with oilier complexions, it is exactly the same predicament! Over oiliness is a sure sign that the skin is deficient in vital nutrients. In most cases over oiliness is a sure sign of sensitivity, the skin feeling attacked, so the skin protects itself by producing more oil. To rebalance this very fine pH level. Natural and organic skincare offers the very best vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid nutritionally loaded plant based skin food available, ideal for sensitive & acne skin conditions!

By eliminating unnecessary harsh synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, detergents and petroleum based moisturisers, which are all void of the much needed nutritious vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, and switching to natural plant based skincare, allows the skin to function so much better. Allowing this amazing and very much underestimated major organ of ours to breathe, heal and function far more beautifully and efficiently. Results from using natural and organic ingredients includes: reducing breakouts/spots, uneven skin tone, rashes, allergies and general skin dullness.

Unfortunately, most if not all commercial hair, body & baby skincare products use harsh synthetic chemical detergents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphates and suffocating petrochemical derived moisturisers (such as petrolatum/mineral oil). Using harsh detergents and relating to my own personal experience, results in stripping the skin’s natural protective pH balance (the skin’s acid mantle). By leaving the skin vulnerable without this much needed and resilient waterproof protection layer, the more sensitive among us are prone to our skin becoming dry, cracked and open to microbe invasions, thus leading to many skin disorders, such as eczema. To add insult to injury, uncomfortable skin conditions can be exacerbated by using suffocating petrolatum/mineral oil based moisturisers and synthetic perfumes causing further irritation.

By using natural and organic skincare products you can be sure that you are receiving the much needed plant based nutritious essential fatty acid skincare. Incorporating skin friendly, refreshing, nutritious and naturally caring ingredients which all help the skin maintain equilibrium and results in overall health and beauty." 2009.

So, how do you start to address the damage done? Your skin is over producing oil to compensate from a perceived attack, that is, an attack from harsh detergents that have stripped the skin of it's natural oil, from say, Sodium Lauryl Sulphates based harsh medicated skin washes. Your skin urgently needs to recover from this sebum over production, to stop pores becoming clogged with excess sebum and debris, which in turn becomes infected, resulting in spots. The skin can appear dry on the cheeks [eczema / rosacea] and oily on the T zone, resulting, for most people, a combination skin type.

When left alone, skin retains a nice natural water resistant base. The sebum and sweat combine nicely to form this healthy acid mantle (which is also a mild anti-bactericide too). To acquire this natural state of balance from an oily skin type, we recommend a group of products from our Acne skincare range>>> I do suggest to keep the skin free of make up whilst the skin starts to rebalance itself, however, if you need to cover up temporarily, we can recommend some concealers from our Acne Concealer range>>> PS> Don't forget to try and absorb enough Essential Fatty Acids into your diet too as this will help with healing unpleasant inflammation. Within a couple of weeks, you should notice the skin is glowing!

I studied Anatomy & Physiology. The main topics studied in-depth was the skin’s structure, and it’s purely balanced ideal state, homeostasis. I received a EUREKA moment when I recognised what I was doing wrong! I discovered that I needed to start trusting that my skin ultimately knew what it should be doing [if there are no underlying illnesses/diseases]. It was me who was constantly interfering with my skin’s balance. I had a flashback and remembered when I first started using advertised skin care products in my late teens. When I just used water, I never had spots, not even one, and my skin was perfect [I know many people who just use water and their skin is in fantastic condition!]. I joined the dots together and discovered that using petro-chemically derived skincare had damaged my skin! Of course, by age 30, the damage was done, sensitivities had been created and my skin was heavily relying on products, instead of the skin being able to look after itself!

Our skin deserves enourmous respect for all the work it does, protecting us from microbe invasions. The many functions it is able to perform deserves our utmost admiration! There is no need to fight Acne/problem/upset/sensitive skin. The best way forward was to try and understand why my skin was the way was. I used to become angry at my skin for not always looking it’s best, this behaviour certainly made my skin worse. The ideal is to work with our skin, what are my stress triggers? Is there anything I can change that could reduce the stress? Could I improve my diet? Consume more soluable & insoluable fibre Digestive Aids>>> so that my digestive tract functions more efficiently? Could I drink more water to flush out toxins more efficiently? How can I increase my intake of Essential Fatty Acids>>>for ultimate skin health, including the many Anti Ageing Benefits too? This new 'me' did take time to cultivate and called for bags of patience - but definitely worthwhile!

Since breaking out of my previous vicious cycle by only using natural and organic skincare & household products, I finally discovered my ‘true’ skin type, it is unfortunately, sensitive. But, full marks to me, I did manage to halt the over production of oil! I have nil Eczema episodes and very few Rosacea attacks. The over oiliness doesn't just dry up when you are older! No. When I use something I shouldn't, the sebum/facial oil just seeps out from my pores, I can actually see the droplets forming [this is quite an amazing sight to see!]. Of course, this only happens if I'm in a hurry and use a harsh facial cleanser which I had no business touching in the first place! However, I can now see how all my past efforts have rewarded me, as I have successfully learnt how to manage my sensitive skin and it is so much healthier than it has been for years!

Our natural products will allow you to find your ‘true’ skin type. By using natural base oils full of nourishing essential fatty acids>>> they will do so much more for your skin and you will notice a HUGE difference in just a matter of days. A word of warning, if you’ve not used natural before, and you have always used petro-chemical derived products, you may find that your skin may undergo a healing/detox process, you may notice a couple of new spots, this can be expected. After stripping the skin's natural oils by using harsh detergents and then suffocating your skin’s natural ability to breathe and heal itself by using petroleum-based emollients, it will suddenly feel like your skin is free. This turmoil, fortunately, is short lived and does not happen for everyone. Most people will notice significant improvement straight away. Of course, do check that the skincare you are using is suitable for your skin type. You should find that your skin will become calmer, so, what you first thought your skin type was, may now be altogether different.

It will be worth knowing, if you are still interested in using natural and organic skin care alternatives for sensitive skin, that all base oils have different characteristics; some are more suited to mature/dry skins whereas other base oils are more suited to more sensitive / oily / combination type skins. Using a base oil that is created for a dry skin type will not be suitable for a sensitive / oily / combination skin type. The effect of using heavier oils for oily skin types can result in the same old problems, heated sensitive skin & clogged blocked pores, leading to blemishes / acne. Choosing natural does not always mean you get it right first time. Our skincare items are created with vegetable/fruit and nut oils. These beautiful natural oils, or more precisely termed 'fixed oils' are composed of molecules that make the cream/lotion/butter easier to smooth onto the skin, although they consist of large molecules (similarities to that of petro-chemical derived oils!) these fixed oils are far more healthier and nourishing, in that the vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids>>> are absorbed more readily into the skin cells. For example: it is thought that Avocado Oil is the only oil that can penetrate the upper layers of the skin, and so would be ideal to be considered for the drier/mature skin types as it is a very rich oil. As a bonus, these natural basic oils are so much healthier and more biologically aligned to our anatomy than petroleum based emollients.

If your skin suffers with excess oil and is a problem at the moment, it may need time to calm down, so perhaps using the Acne Skin Care>>> may suit? However, if you believe you are more sensitive rather than oily / acne orientated, the Unscented Skin Care>>> might be beneficial? First check - if you also suffer inflamed red rashes/spots with itching, and/or your face burns when you smooth a cream or lotion on your skin, I would suggest you have sensitive tendencies. You will need to treat the sensitive skin condition as a priority before you even attempt to treat the oiliness, you may in fact find that by treating your skin with Unscented Skin Care>>> - healthier ingredients, you will no longer experience oily episodes, the skin will cease defending itself from a perceived attack. Perhaps after a couple of months using this simple regime for your sensitive skin, you could start to be a bit more adventurous with the more luxuriously loaded herbal and essential oil based products? Again, listen to what your skin truly desires. Perhaps introduce one new product at a time, and go from there? However, if your skin problem is purely excess oil and you have no tendency to itch, scratch and your skin doesn’t burn when you use lotions and creams, no rashes or excessive dry patches, it is purely an Acne/Problem Skin>>> type.

Do you still require some help? Do you have questions? Would you like to share your story with us? We set up a Facebook page for both Acne & Eczema, the idea behind these pages is for me, Angie, to become more interactive with everyone who wants to know more. After providing one to one skin consultations for the past 13+ years it is very obvious thatupset skin is almost always caused by stress. If you have sensitive skin you'll find our Eczema Facebook page more beneficial. With love, Angie xx